Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Autumn

It’s my favourite
time of year, again. The time of
year that bids farewell to the sweet, sticky heat of summer…to those long days
and warm nights; to sun on your skin and chlorine in your hair; to swatting pesky
mosquitos and donning large brimmed hats to prevent my pale Irish skin from
becoming raw, red and blistered.
To popsicles and watermelons, burgers on the grill, iced tea and
lemonade.

While I always
welcome the warmth of summer after dark Winter days and Spring’s bright
freshness, there is little that exhilirates me more than that first brisk
autumn morning, the air thick with the smell of fallen leaves. To that first Pumpkin Spice anything,
to trees at their most magnificent: donning yellow, orange, and red. To days that darken before dinner and
hearty pots of soup on the stove.

My girl, loving those incredible red leaves.

In Ireland, the
autumns were quite different. They
haven’t yet caught on to the pumpkin thing (how I missed pumpkin spice lattes,
those four years), and the trees don’t sport incredible ombre coats like they do
here in the States. But to me,
there is nothing like walking out into an Irish autumn afternoon and smelling
the woody, sweet bonfire scent of smoke billowing from chimneys; the earthy
scent of peat enveloping me like a warm blanket that I can't experience anywhere else in the world. The comforting smell of childhood
autumns gone by and mother nature’s whisper that winter is just around the
corner. And I do miss it very
much.

And now, on All Hallows Eve, I sit here contemplating where this Autumn has
gone. Could it really be almost
November? In the shops, Christmas
is already taking over and although I – truly - love Christmas, I find myself
wishing that we could simply savour the season upon us before barreling toward
the next.

To that end, I
suppose I should practice what I preach and enjoy each moment as it comes.

"Moo"-at-the-Zoo. Not so sure about that cow....

Our life has taken a drastic change of course in the last few weeks and
in a few months time we will begin an entirely new life in an entirely new
place. You likely already know
what the big change is, but I decided to dust off the old blog so that as the
months progress, I can keep you you in the loop as you follow us on our (next)
new adventure.

Blogs I Like

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